Mangaluru (PTI): With the announcement of Gururaj Gantihole, a partyman with strong RSS background, as its candidate from Byndoor in Udupi, the ruling BJP in Karnataka has presented four new faces from the coastal district, which was swept by the party in the 2018 Assembly elections.

Among the five seats in the district, only Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar could get the party’s renomination from Karkala constituency.

In the prestigious Udupi seat, sitting MLA Raghupati Bhat was replaced by firebrand activist Yashpal Suvarna who has strong support among the party cadre with his campaign for cow protection and the fight against hijab in educational institutions that raged in the coastal district in early 2022.

Sitting MLA B M Sukumar Shetty was replaced by Gantihole in Byndoor, while Kiran Kumar Kodgi, a nominee of sitting MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty, who announced his retirement from electoral politics, was given ticket in Kundapur.

In Kaup, BJP fielded a new face in Gurme Suresh Shetty, replacing sitting MLA Lalaji R Mendon.

In Karkala, where the party retained minister V Sunil Kumar as its candidate, a tough fight is expected in view of Sri Ram Sene chief Pramod Muthalik’s decision to contest polls.

Bhat, who broke down before the media on Wednesday, did not mention anything about the reported move to contest as an independent.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, the BJP had won from all the five constituencies in the district.